INFO 4400 INFO 5400 Syllabus Summer 2016-1

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS SCHOOL OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCES INFO 4400 & SLIS 5400 INFORMATION RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT Delivered via Blackboard Learn-NO required class meetings INS

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS SCHOOL OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCES

INFO 4400 & SLIS 5400 INFORMATION RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT

Delivered via Blackboard Learn-NO required class meetings

INSTRUCTOR:

Connie Coyle, Adjunct Instructor

School of Library and Information Sciences

University of North Texas

P.O Box 311068

Denton, Texas 76203

otherstar@earthlink.net (Please use this email only in the case of a Learn outage or other emergency)

940.565.2445 (or 1.877.ASK.SLIS the Main SLIS number)

832-444-0196 (cell)

COURSE DESCRIPTION (UNT GRADUATE CATALOG):

Principles and methods of evaluating, selecting and acquiring different kinds of information resources Development and maintenance of information collections Bibliographic tools and on-line databases Searching and verification; publishers and publishing; censorship issues; acquisition processes Representative research, problems and practice

COURSE GOALS:

• To provide students with an overview of the major types of libraries and corresponding funding sources for collection development

• To introduce and discuss various types of informal and formal needs assessment instruments that can be designed to analyze users' collection development needs

• To provide a detailed discussion of the various types of print and electronic publishers and distributors

• To review both general and specific resources that can be used to evaluate, select and

acquire different types of information resources

• To discuss the standard terminology and methods used in library acquisitions, fiscal management, and collection development

• To examine the relationships between intellectual freedom, censorship, and collection development, providing students with a framework to assist them in developing cogent written responses to censorship challenges and requests for investigation from the government

• To review the primary elements common to most written collection development

policies

PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES:

At the conclusion of this course, students will have engaged in group and individual learning experiences and will have completed projects that demonstrate the following competencies:

1 The ability to compose a detailed written profile of a library of their choice that includes the following elements: (1) descriptions of primary and secondary user groups, (2) budgetary figures related to primary and secondary sources of funding and collection development monies, (3) major collections (print and electronic) that support users' information needs, (4) secondary and unique collections and services that support users' information needs, and (5) quotations from interviews with collection

development staff members

2 Proficiency in designing a brief needs assessment research instrument related to users' information needs at the library of their choice

3 Skill at using relevant print and electronic resources to select a "gap" collection of library materials within a specific subject or genre-related area for their chosen library, given a limited budgetary allocation

4 Proficiency in providing a cogent written response to a typical censorship challenge or government-sponsored request for investigation The student's response will be based upon practical examples discussed in the course, as well as class discussions and independent readings

5 The ability to design a detailed written collection development policy, one that contains documented knowledge of users' information needs at the library of their choice,

together with details concerning what formats and subject areas are emphasized, who selects, what major resources are used in the selection process, and policies for

dealing with complaints, censorship challenges, and investigations

METHODOLOGY:

Student learning will be accomplished through Blackboard Learn lectures, independent study, interactive class discussions, audiovisual aids, and written projects

Blackboard Learn enables the faculty to track information on each student's number of

postings to the class discussion list, number of Web sites visited, and the time of last posting This information will be used, in part, in the process of determining the final grade for the course

REQUIRED TEXT:

Evans, G Edward Developing Library and Information Center Collections 5th edition

Greenwood Village, Colorado: Libraries Unlimited, 2005 ISBN-13: 978-1591582199

STUDENT REQUIREMENTS:

1 Completion of five (5) written assignments, each of which is worth fifteen (15) points Total of 75 points (75% of grade)

• Library Profile (15 points)

• Needs Assessment Project (15 points)

• “Gap” Selection Activity (15 points)

• Privacy, Censorship, & Government Legislation research paper (15 points}

• Collection Development Policy (15 points)

2 Blog Posts

Total of 15 points (15% of grade)

3 Individual class participation

Total of 10 points (10% of grade)

GRADING SCALE:

A: 90-100 points

B: 80-89 points

C: 70-79 points

D: 60-69 points

F: 59 points and below

GRADING:

Some grading falls outside the scope of most assignment grading but warrants just-in-case coverage

GRADE OPTIONS:

Extra credit.

Extra credit will be granted on an individual basis You must be in good standing and be current on all of your assignments in order to seek extra credit

Withdrawal.

See UNT Graduate Catalog for policies and UNT semester schedule for deadlines A grade

of Withdraw (W) or Withdraw-Failing (WF) will be given depending on your participation and

grades to date Note that if you simply disappear and do not file a UNT withdrawal form, you may receive an F You are responsible for ensuring that the withdrawal process is

completed

Incomplete.

See UNT Graduate Catalog for policies and UNT semester schedule for deadlines A grade

of Incomplete (I) will be given only for a justifiable reason, only if you are passing the course,

and only if you have signed a letter of agreement with the instructor You are responsible

for contacting the instructor to request an incomplete and discuss requirements for completing the course If the incomplete is not removed within the time frame agreed upon by you and the instructor, you will receive a grade of F

POLICIES:

Online participation/Communication.

You are expected to log in to Blackboard Learn daily, except for weekends and holidays, and

to reply to email within 48 hours I will extend the same courtesy and respond to emails and postings within 48 hours, but I am not online 24/7 and cannot (will not) respond immediately

Courtesy/Professionalism.

Faculty and students should treat each other with courtesy and respect at all times This course involves discussions of controversial topics that are relevant to information

professionals At the same time that you are encouraged to voice your opinions about these topics, you are also urged to keep the discussions at a mature and productive level Please conduct public discussions professionally and keep them on topic Please move any

discussion to the private email area if your interaction moves off topic or does not contain

information relevant to all in the course Ireserve the right to remove any discussion deemed

to be offensive, inflammatory, or irrelevant to the entirety of the class from the public

discussion areas

Electronic tracking.

Blackboard Vista enables the instructor to track some of your site usage, such as log ins

and page hits (You can also view your own usage data in the 'My Progress" area of the course.) This information may be employed, in part, to determine your level of activity in the

MAJOR ASSIGNMENTS (75%)

1 LIBRARY PROFILE

For this assignment, the student will identify and select a library that can be studied through out this course The library profile will be created using a variety of sources, which should include personal visits to the library, discussions with library personnel, web resources such as the library web site, library pamphlets, and any other resource that might contain information to help the student understand the library, its collections, its users, and its operations The profile will be a written document where the narrative portion is not to exceed 15 pages All information MUST be cited properly The purpose

of the library profile is to become acquainted with the library users, the library

collections, and the existing policies of your chosen library Please refer to the

assignment outline for specific requirements

Required readings:

Evans, G Edward (In future Webliographies, referred to as "Evans")

Developing Library and Information Center Collections 5th ed Greenwood

Village, Colorado: Libraries Unlimited, 2005 Chapter 1, "Information

Age-Information Society," pp 1-19

Blackboard Learn, Lesson 1 and associated readings

2 NEEDS ASSESSMENT STUDY

For this assignment, the student will choose ONE of the FORMAL needs assessment methodologies discussed in lesson two The student will then design and conduct a brief needs assessment study and then write up a description of the process (Not to exceed 15 pages.) The purpose of the needs assessment study is to familiarize

students with the process of creating and administering needs assessments in order to identify the needs of library users Please refer to the assignment outline for specific requirements

Required readings:

Evans, Chapter 2: "Information Needs Assessment," pp 20-48

Blackboard Learn, Lesson 2 and associated readings

3 SELECTION EXERCISE

For this assignment, the student will identify a “gap” in the library's current collection A

"gap" is an area where one particular area of a library's collections are week/sparse, non-existent, or outdated The gap is usually related to a specific subject or genre Given a budget of $2,000 (U.S dollars), select a collection of materials (books, e-books, reference e-books, e-reference e-books, musical scores, compact discs, DVDs,

etc.) for this library The purpose of the selection exercise is to identify areas of

weakness within existing collections and to use a variety of professional selection and review sources to build a collection of information resources Please refer to the assignment outline for specific requirements

Required readings:

Evans, Chapter 4: "Selection Process in Practice," pp 69-98

Evans, Chapter 11: "Distributors and Vendors," pp 248-276

Blackboard Learn, Lesson 4 and associated readings

Additionally, a great deal of information is contained in the following chapters:

Evans, Chapters 6, 7, 8, and 9: "Serials - Print and Electronic," "Other Electronic Materials," "Government Information," and "Audiovisual Materials,"

respectively-pp 120-228 However they are more useful for reference and do not require

"cover-to-cover" reading

4 PRIVACY, CENSORSHIP, AND GOVERNMENT LEGISLATION

For this assignment, the student will research issues of privacy, censorship, and government legislation as it relates to building collections of information

resources The focus should be on these issues as they relate to your specific

library Each type of library (school, public, university, special) will be impacted

by these issues differently The student should include a brief discussion of

legislation such as the USA PATRIOT Act, CISPA, CIPA, net neutrality, and any

other up and coming legislation that could potentially impact libraries The

student needs to state what the legislation is, its potential impact on libraries

(especially collection development), and its current status In addition to

legislation, the student needs to research and discuss discuss censorship and

whether or not it is okay for libraries to self-censor their collections during the

collection development process Use persuasive language and supporting

documentation in defense of your position The paper must be limited to 15

pages and must include three readings not discussed in this class or cited within the Webliographies for this class All of the information included MUST be

properly cited! Please refer to the assignment outline for specific requirements

Required readings:

Evans, Chapter 18: "Censorship, Intellectual Freedom, and Collection

Development," pp 410-429

Evans, Chapter 17: "Legal Issues," pp 384-409

Blackboard Learn, Lesson 6 and associated readings

5 COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT POLICY

For this assignment, the student will create a clear and concise collection

development policy for the library that has been studied for the duration of the

semester This policy MUST look and sound like a professional document All

information MUST be cited properly The written portion of the policy should be

limited to 20 pages The collection development policy is a culmination of all of

the other assignments Much of the information will come from the other

projects The purpose of the Collection Development Policy is for the student to

demonstrate what he/she has learned through out the course Please refer to

the assignment outline for specific requirements

Required readings: Evans, Chapter 3: "Collection Development Policies," pp

49-68

Blackboard Learn, Lesson 7 and associated readings

GUIDELINES FOR ALL ASSIGNMENTS

• Adopt a formal writing style, avoiding the use of slang and "folksy" phrases All

assignments should look and sound like professional documents

• Write in the third person (e.g "The author of this paper believes" instead of "I

believe") Assignment 4, the position paper, is the only assignment in which you may use first-person expressions such as "I" or "my."

• Compose your documents using Microsoft Word (97 or higher) as your

word-processing software package If you do not have Microsoft Word, you can use other programs IF you save them as Rich Text Format (.rtf)

• Double space your documents, except for the final assignment (the Collection

Development Policy) where single spacing is acceptable

• Use a standard 12 point font (Arial or Times New Roman) Do NOT use fancy fonts

• Use a consistent citation style throughout the projects and please identify the chosen

style in your initial project The citation style must be a recognized and easily available

(verifiable) format (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.)

• Please cite all information accurately and consistently

• When in doubt as to the amount of detail to provide, err on the side of more rather than less detail Providing more detail helps your instructor to determine that you are able to analyze situations accurately Papers with superficial detail provide little evidence of critical thinking on your part

• Do not hesitate to ask the instructor for guidance

• Provide a cover page at the beginning and a bibliography/works cited page at the end

of the paper Please put the course name and number that you are registered for on your cover page If you are registered for 4400.001, please put that on your cover page

to facilitate quicker grading

• Please save your documents using your last name followed by the assignment name For example, coylelibraryprofile.doc is the preferred document naming convention for submissions

• Use your spell check and grammar check before submitting your papers Then, read

your paper again carefully to catch any errors not detected by these "checks." Youmay

lose points for persistent spelling and grammar errors, which detract greatly from your paper's overall effect

• Organize the body of your paper through the use of section headings

(e.g I Introduction, II Statement of the Problem, etc.) An outline, with headings, has been provided for you to follow for each of the assignments You MUST follow the outline If you would like to ADD additional headings or sections, that is okay but you MUST include the headings that are provided

• Follow the assignment guidelines Each assignment has detailed guidelines to help you complete each of the major assignments

BLOG POSTS (15%)

Students will use the My Ideas/blog feature within Blackboard Learn to create a blog for sharing ideas related to course materials Blog posts will be based on writing prompts

provided by the course instructor The purpose of the blog is to create a space for students to gather information and ideas relating to the major assignments and other course topics

CLASS PARTICIPATION (10%)

Class participation consists of submitting your assignments in a timely manner, completing the lesson exercises, and keeping up with the discussions You do not have to read the postings of all of your classmates but you will be held

responsible for any information posted in the forums by the course instructor Class participation also involves being an active participant in this course Keep

in mind that Blackboard Learn has tracking features that may be used to help calculate participation grades.

REQUIRED TEXTBOOK READINGS:

Lesson 1

Required: Evans, G Edward (In future webliographies, referred to as "Evans").Developing

Library and Information Center Collections 5th ed Greenwood Village, Colorado: Libraries

Unlimited, 2005 Chapter 1Chapter 1, "Information Age-Information Society," pgs 1-19

(Evans_Chapter_1.pdfEvans_Chapter_1.pdf)

Lesson 2

Required: Evans, Chapter_2Chapter_2: "Information Needs Assessment," pp 20-48

(Evans_Chapter_2.pdfEvans_Chapter_2.pdf)Â

Lesson 3

Required: Evans, Chapter 5 : "Producers of Information Materials," pp 99-119.

Evans, Chapter 11: "Distributors and Vendors," pp 248-276

Lesson 4

Required: Evans, Chapter 4: "Selection Process in Practice," pp 69-98.

Evans, Chapter 11: "Distriburtors and Vendors," pp 248-276

Evans, Chapters 6, 7, 8, and 9: "Serials - Print and Electronic," "Other Electronic Materials,"

"Government Information," and "Audiovisual Materials," respectively-pp 120-228 these 4 chapters are more for reference and may not require "cover-to-cover" reading

Lesson 5

Required:Â Evans, Chapter 10: "Acquisitions," pp 229-247.

Evans, Chapter 12: "Fiscal Management," pp 277-294

Lesson 6

Required:Â Evans, Chapter 18: "Censorship, Intellectual Freedom, and Collection

Development," pp 410-429

Evans, Chapter 17: "Legal Issues," pp 384-409

Lesson 7

Required:Â Evans, Chapter 3: "Collection Development Policies," pp 49-68.

LATE POLICY:

Assignment due dates are listed in the course calendar as well as under the

assignments tab Major Assignments are due by 11:59 PM on the dates listed Late assignments may be penalized 1 points per day, unless extenuating circumstances have been discussed with the instructor prior to the due date The only assignments that

have firm due dates are the five (5) major projects Recommended due dates for blog posts are listed in the course calendar Points will not be deducted for late blog posts but it may impact your class participation grade All lesson exercises must be submitted before the course closes Nothing will be accepted after the course closes

UNT POLICY ON ACADEMIC DISHONESTY:

Academic misconduct

Policies.

The UNT Code of Student Conduct and Discipline defines cheating and plagiarism as types

of academic misconduct along with other unethical and illegal activities It says students are

responsible for understanding the meanings and consequences of academic misconduct.

The SLIS Academic Misconduct Policy supports the UNT policy and particularly addresses

plagiarism A signed acknowledgment form related to this policy is required from every

student enrolled in a SLIS course This form is collected only once and placed in the student's academic file

The SLIS policy contains definitions of cheating and plagiarism from the UNT Code of

Student Conduct and Discipline

(http://policy.unt.edu/policydesc/code-student-conduct-and-discipline-18-1-11)

Dr Schamber'sTips for Coursework

(http://courses.unt.edu/schamber/TipsForCoursework.pdf ) provides guidance on how

to avoid plagiarizing as well as links to helpful resources about plagiarism

Generally, it is recommended that you cite sources

• in all your work

• of all types, published and unpublished

• with or without direct quotations

• completely and accurately

Procedures Any or all student work may be submitted to Turnitin.com for verification

of originality The instructor looks for passages of text that conspicuously fail to adhere to the parameters above (excluding required parts of assignments that obviously will be duplicated)

Penalties Plagiarism is illegal, unethical, and unacceptable Instances of plagiarism in this

course will result in these penalties:

• First offense: Assignment grade reduced by one complete grade